I think the image serving server is having some issues today. As far as can tell it is a separate server and there may be server or network issues separate from the site itself.

I was able to see the page eventually, it just took longer to load. The image I got was served from http://shamusyoung.mu.nu/images/comic_lotr117.jpg and rather than refresh the page repeatedly I just opened that link in a separate tab and let it take it’s sweet time.

Hope this helps and doesn’t serve to kill the image hosting server. But I felt less full page refreshes were probably good for the site.

“wow thats a lame DM cop-out…”
I’m not so sure. I mean, if a DM can say “your character is lawful-good. He wouldn’t do that”, can’t he also say “your character is smarter than you are. He wouldn’t do that”? But that touches on the problem I have with role-playing. I mean, if it’s fun for you, go for it, but a chracter’s success at negotiations shouldn’t depend on the players ability to sweet-talk any more than the outcome of a round of combat should depend on the player’s actual physical skill with a sword.

Yeah, but just saying “I roll a 12. Is he convinced?” Is just lame. I think the best solution is for the player to roleplay what he wants to say, then roll to see how well his character says it (with the DC dependant on exactly what the player is trying to convince the NPC of). After all, while you roll to see if a character succeeds on hitting an NPC in combat, the player still has to choose who to hit, and even how to hit them (which combat action or feat to use). Likewise, the player has to choose what to say, even if his character is able to say it more eloquently.

I may be nitpicking, but I believe that Corsairs are the population of Umbar (and the crews of the ships), not the ships themselves. English is not my native, but I don’t think you can empty the crew :P

Anyways, I absolutely LOVE your strip. The way you get those faces to match every time is priceless, and the fact that you update so often… :D

You’d think that the DM would have given him some ranks in Profession: Sailor if his character knew how to sail a ship. That way, he wouldn’t have had to read his cumbersome backstory, and just look at the character sheet.

And, if his backstory said that he knew how to sail, but he had no ranks, I would expect this to mean that he once knew, but it has been so long since that part of the backstory occurred that he’s since forgotten.

The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is hi-larious and best heard rather than read, so look for an mp3 of it.

Arrrr! Belay that mp3 searching! The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything is best seen. Google for “Larry” “Silly Songs” and “Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything”, then buy the tape/disc/what have you.

If you get the right omnibus collection of Silly Songs you will also witness the existential angst of “Oh Where Is My Hairbrush?” and the sheer artistry of the Argentinian Sombrero Song, not to mention the now-legendary crisis engendered by “Everybody’s Got A Water Buffalo”, which caused the temporary banning of “Larry Sings A Silly Song” from Veggie Tales until a massive write-in campaign had it reinstated.

Heh, so now we have Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas on a ship attempting to sail it up a river. I know how such an endeavor SHOULD end, but I’m sure the DM has other plans, logic, sandbars, tides, current and sail handling be damned. He may as well have divine winds brewing.

Would it have been too much trouble to photoshop in some tiny figures leaping from the ships into the sea Shamus? Definitely an action-deficient installment, but hilarious as usual.

So, um, which was the lame DM cop out? Was it saying “Don’t burn the ships, you can use them yourselves” or saying “Your character knows how to sail a ship”? Because while the former may not be strictly legit DMing, he’s really only pointing out an option the players are ignoring and compared to some of his previous railroad attempts it doesn’t even raise the needle. The latter is apparently written in the backstory, which is at the very least SOPHISTICATED railroading, and not a lame cop-out.